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Monday, March 25, 2013

Episode 22 Discussion of the Chinese Expression "無可奈何"

A few days ago sia3
and I were discussing the Chinese expression "無可奈何", which roughly
means to have no choice or to be resigned, and how well it described
Young's entire demeanor in this scene.In fact, this scene
perfectly encapsulates Young's lonely journey as a warrior and the
reason why his resolve is so badly shaken. As we have seen so many
times, Young finds himself standing alone against seemingly
insurmountable odds - though it is not the odds that give him pause, but
the knowledge that there is a never-ending flow of enemies whose blood
he must shed. One after another, the bodies pile around him and their
blood stain his hands, his armour, his face. As he loses count of how
many lives he had ended, the faces of his enemies blur in front of him
and the only thing he can see is the hideous amount of blood that has
been spilt - a sea of red. His increasing disillusionment in what he is
forced to do as a warrior is evident in the later scene where Young
shows Eun Soo his sword and admits that he is only able to slay the
innocent pawns of evildoers rather than the evildoers themselves. It
seems Eun Soo is the only one (or one of very few) who understands
immediately that it isn't simply about the danger that Young faces, but
about the pain it causes him to shed so much blood - even as Daeman
tries to assure her that Daejang is strong enough to fight them off, her
mind goes immediately to what it must have been like, for "that person
has always lived like this."